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A.U. envoys to meet pro-Morsi bloc in Cairo

Hussein Qabani Tuesday, April 8, 2014

CAIRO – Members of a visiting African Union (A.U.) delegation have asked to meet representatives of Egypt's National Alliance for the Defense of Legitimacy, the main support bloc for ousted president Mohamed Morsi, according to a leading alliance member.

"On Monday, A.U. envoys called [alliance leader] Mohamed Ali Beshr and requested a Wednesday meeting with members of the alliance," Omar Azzam told Anadolu Agency, adding that the pro-Morsi bloc had agreed to meet with the African delegation.

The three-member A.U. delegation, led by former Malian president Alpha Oumar Konare, arrived in Cairo two days ago for a four-day visit to meet with government officials.

According to Azzam, there is no set agenda for the scheduled meeting between the A.U. envoys and members of the pro-Morsi alliance, which is slated to take place on Wednesday at an as-yet-unspecified venue in Cairo.

Azzam also said the Foreign Ministry had been informed of the meeting, which could be attended by a ministry representative.

Along with Konare, the A.U.'s High-Level Panel for Egypt delegation includes Festus Gontebanye Mogae, a former president of Botswana; and Dileita Mohamed Dileita, a former prime minister of Djibouti.

It will be the third such meeting between A.U. envoys and pro-Morsi alliance members in Cairo since Morsi's ouster by the army last July, according to Azzam.

The A.U. suspended Egypt's membership two days after Morsi's ouster in a measure taken automatically by the pan-African body in the event of unconstitutional changes of government in a member state.

In January, Egypt completed the first phase of an army-imposed transitional roadmap by holding a referendum on an amended version of its 2012 constitution.

Egyptians will elect a new president on May 26/27 in the second step of the roadmap, which will be completed later this year with the holding of parliamentary polls.